In Hero Years... I'm Dead Delux Edition (30 page)

“I’m afraid your warrant means nothing to me. Santiago has granted me a diplomatic passport.”

“What?!” Colonel Constitution leaned in. “There is no such country.”

I nodded. “I’m afraid there is. Nestled between Belize and Guatemala. Forty years ago your grandfather helped set up a right wing government with CIA backing in a rebel province. There’s no extradition treaty and several surviving members of a previous presidential administration live there on a ranch.”

Constitution’s breath rasped through his faceplate. “You’ll be recalled.”

“There will be a protest.”

“Your ass will still be out of here.” Colonel Constitution looked at the rest of us. “You’re not off. Conspiring with a foreign national. We’re taking you in.”

Diana stood. “But that’s not a warrant.”

“It will be when the judge signs it.” Constitution shoved it her direction. “It’s all proper and legal.”

“No it isn’t.”

“Sez who?”

“Me, second year law, Emerald University School of Law.”

Selene and I exchanged a smile.

“Listen here, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows a warrant to be obtained seventy-two hours
after
surveillance commences. Therefore, this is a warrant, and you’re under arrest.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Colonel.” The mayor pushed his way past Kid Icthy, then soaked up the slime with a handkerchief. “Selene, Castigan, I believe we have some business to conduct.”

“And that would be?” Selene gave him a hard stare.

“Better conducted in a more private setting.”

Sinisterion sketched a bow. “Then I’ll be leaving.”

I nodded. “Take Diana with you.”

“She stays.” Constitution slapped the warrant down on her desk. “She’s going nowhere.”

My eyes tightened. “Castigan believes, right, that things will be said,
right
, that certain ears should not hear,
right
?”

Constitution missed it, but Gregory Greylan did not. He held a hand up. “Let her go. Clear all your men out. Just the four of us.”

Kid Icthy gurgled something.

“Need to know, soldier.” Constitution pointed fish-boy to the door. “Standby in case there is trouble. You can help carry the bodies to the meat wagon.”

A couple of the cops closed the door as best they could, but the jamb had been splintered. I waited until their fingers were clear, then hit a button on Diana’s desk that dropped a steel door into place, securing the shop. Constitution leaped back, landing in the middle of the room in a crouch, his shield poised to fend me off.

I looked at the mayor. “You’re paying for the door.”

“Let’s not get into a pissing match, Castigan, because you’ll lose.” He looked me up and down. “I know who you are. I was wracking my brains after that night, because something was familiar about you but…”

“I tell you what, your
Honor
, you don’t lie to me, and I won’t lie to you.” I leaned on the desk. “You had no clue who I was–emphasis on the
was
–until some ghost grumbled in your ear. There was nothing familiar about me, and certainly no desire on your part to remember me.”

“I remember you real well now.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Don’t tell me what I remember.”

I laughed. “You never knew who I was then. If you had known, when Graviton and the others started looking for me, you’d have tipped them where I’d been last seen. You didn’t. To you I was just some guy on the plane who took you to a bar on the luckiest night of your life.”

The mayor hesitated.

“Does Delores know you still think about them?”

“You leave my wife out of this.”

“That’s a no.” I looked over at Constitution. “And before you get all smug, I know you’re William Wright the third. I’m sorry about your dad. I knew him when he was just finishing up as First Amendment and you weren’t even a Preamble.”

Greylan stopped Constitution with a hand against his chest. “Look Castigan, what I knew, when I knew it, doesn’t matter. I was hoping for some commonality, to build a bond here, to establish some rapport. It’ll make things easier.”

“What things?”

He nodded at Selene. “Ms. Kole knows how things are done now. We have a system that keeps things stable. It’s under control.”

“Who are you trying to kid, Redhawk?” I straightened up. “I was at the Hall of Fame. I was at the Little Asia Massacre. Those things were utterly out of control.”

“But the system is handling them.”

“Are you nuts?” Disbelief underscored my question. “I’ve been looking at your system. It can be manipulated. It can be circumvented. There’s someone out there willing to do both.”

Constitution began muttering. “Conspiracy. Conspiracy.”

“Listen, Castigan, if I had two bits for every time I’ve heard the ‘there’s a mastermind out there’ crap, I could afford a Fortress of Solitude. The system works because everyone is taken care of. The people are happy watching their heroes succeed. Their Superfriends funds pay them bonuses. Their jobs are tied to reconstruction or merchandising, and business is booming. There’s lots to go around. It’s working. Crime against people is down, and bankable crime is covered.”

“Bankable crime? What is that supposed to be?”

“Property crime that doesn’t hurt anyone, but keeps the economy flowing.”

“What, light bulbs don’t burn out fast enough, so folks go and smash them?” I looked at him incredulously. “It makes no sense.”

“It makes complete sense.” The mayor posted his fists on his hips. “We’ve taken the random out of crime. There’s surprise, maybe a thrill, but fear’s gone. Everyone knows the rules. If you’re a hostage, sit tight, and you’ll get rescued. Your bank is hit, no problem, your deposits are covered. Your business is offline while being rebuilt, it’s okay. You have insurance for that. You take a vacation, come back to a new office that will be more efficient.”

“If we follow that to its logical conclusion, Mr. Mayor, you could target city sectors that need renovation.” I blinked. “You actually do that, don’t you?”

“There are times the people don’t understand what’s best for them.”

“And you usurp making that choice?”

His chin came up. “That’s what they elected me for.”

“No, they elected you to carry out their will, not to make it up for them.”

Constitution snorted. “Commie.”

The mayor ignored him and reached inside his jacket. He tossed a thick brown envelope on the desk. “You can think what you like, but the system works. We will keep it working. You’re part of it now.”

I nudged the envelope onto the floor. It landed with a heavy
thwap
. “You can’t imagine I’d join Colonel Constitution’s flying circus.”

“You’re too old.” Redhawk’s eyes narrowed. “That packet has your ID and registration. We’ve gotten you insurance and are deducting the premiums monthly. You’ve got your health insurance card which will conceal your identity. You’ve got permits for non-lethal weapons. Don’t carry anything heavier. We’ve sent vigilantes off west before.”

“I play by the rules, I’m a
hero
, otherwise I’m a
vigilante
?”

“I’m glad we understand each other.”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand me at all. I’m retired. I’m not
in
your damned system.”

“You put yourself into it when you became Old Dude with Yo-yo.” Greylan jerked a thumb toward the door. “Associating with someone like Doctor Sinisterion is not remaining outside the game.”

I covered my face with a hand. I’d returned to Capital City to discover why someone had made me go away. Selene had been right about that, however. It made no difference. I tried being a hero again and was promptly shown the truth of its being a young man’s game. I couldn’t scare anyone anymore, and I’d failed to help in Little Asia. I was as far out of the game as it was possible to be, and yet they wouldn’t let me go.

My hand fell away. “Greg, what is it about me that scares you so much?”

He fought a denial, then met my stare. “You’ve lived outside the system for too long. You remember the way it was, but you only remember the good things, the things that make you feel good. You forget people crying and bleeding and dying in your arms.”

“No, I have a pretty good memory of that, thanks. Quite fresh.”

“You’re a rogue element, Castigan. You say you’re retired, but you can’t be. I am, but you saw me in Little Asia. There was a call, and I answered.”

“But there’s the difference. I didn’t.”

“So you tuck these away in your safe. You give them to the priests. Do whatever you want, but you have to remember that now you’re part of the system. You break the rules, you pay the price. Ignore the system and you pay an even greater price.”

I frowned. “You think your system is so delicate that I can bring it down?”

“If I thought that, Constitution’s warrant would already be signed and you’d be on a plane to the coast.”

“You’d break your own rules to save your system?”

He nodded.

“And I’d get punished for doing the same thing.” I shook my head. “See, that’s the funny thing. Back in the day you played by the book. Now you get to write the book, and you play outside it. Doesn’t that tell you something?”

“Yes. The city’s lucky they have me looking out for them.” Greylan stared coldly. “I think we understand each other, don’t we, Castigan?”

“Oh, I get you. I also get that your system is crashing and you’re whistling past the graveyard.”

My uTiliPod rang, cutting my rant off. I checked the caller, then took it. “Castigan here. Yes. Fascinating. He will? Excellent. It would please Castigan to do so. This evening, that can be arranged. No, it is Castigan’s pleasure. Good-bye.”

I lowered the uTiliPod and glanced at Greg. “Did you really hire
Nypawbyedeemay
to help bolster C4 II?”

“They come highly recommended.”

Selene’s blue eyes tightened. “Russians? A foreign security company coming here, to Capital City?”

The mayor gave her a sidelong glance. “This firm is good and, given the current budget projections, is what we can afford.”

“But didn’t two dozen people die when they handled the hostage situation at the Bolshoi?”

“They’ve been retrained and equipped with non-lethal weapons.” Greylan looked at me. “Have you already got a source in my office? Is that how retired you are?”

I held my hands up. “I’m innocent in this one. That was The O’Lily Forum. Turns out your Police Commissioner is going to be on the show tonight to discuss this latest hiring. Castigan will be there to comment.”

Constitution rubbed his hands together gleefully. “I can’t wait.”

I smiled. “Trust me, son. You’ll wish you had.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

That packet of papers began to bother me. It couldn’t have weighed more than a pound, but it got to feeling like a sack of wet cement perched on my chest. I didn’t like the system. I didn’t want to be part of it, but those papers pulled me in.

And then there was the glance Selene shot me when I challenged Colonel Constitution. She didn’t believe I was retired. Not one little bit.

That gave me pause. If she didn’t believe it, why should anyone else? Why should I believe?

I reviewed everything through new eyes. I looked for the truth. It wasn’t at all what I expected.

The Castigan personality wasn’t the eccentric I’d envisioned twenty years before. He was combative, annoying and guaranteed to antagonize people. I might no longer scare folks, but being aggressive kept them at bay. Different tactic, same result.

And managing Kid Coyote’s career wasn’t a retirement strategy. It wasn’t about him at all. I saw him as a younger me. I was using him to prove I still had game. Through him I’d prove myself worthy of the Hall of Fame.

All things considered, my
father
was more retired than I was.

That flash of weariness on my father’s face broke something inside me. We’d fought against each other. He’d always been strong and irrepressible. Knock him down, he’d come roaring back. Resilience was his greatest strength, and I had a good chunk of that from him.

There comes a point, however, when you just want to rest. The struggles you’ve been through wear you down. Victories and laurels may cause you to smile, but that’s because you’ve forgotten the pain and hard work that went into winning them. Then a new challenge comes along. It’s a challenge that looks like so many others. You already know how things will turn out. You’ll probably win, so you begin to wonder if the effort is worth it.

That line of thought led me to one, inescapable conclusion. The battle I was fighting was against getting old. I wanted my youth back. So stupid. I may have seen a half-dozen heroes and villains who could skip around in time, but never had I seen anyone who could turn back his personal clock. They all got old and, despite the wonders they’d seen, the things they’d done, they all got tired.